Monday night could bring a surprise meteor shower

The tau Herculid meteor shower probably isn't one you have heard of. This is because it normally is a very minor one, or more accurately a variable, producing a handful of visible meteors at most, but usually much of nothing. But this year's peak on Monday May 30th overnight into the 31st could be different if researchers are right.

Researchers are pointing to the breakup of a comet in the mid-90s as creating the right conditions for a possible meteor outburst, or unusually active meteor shower.

The source is Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 which disintegrated into several large chunks in late 1995. The break up has continued since then.

The Hubble Space Telescope imaged more fragments of the comet as it passed by on its 5.4 year trip around the Sun in 2006. A month later, the Spitzer Space Telescope observed more fragments forming their own sub-fragments.

While smaller bits, about the size of a grain of sand get pushed behind the comet, into its tail, by the solar wind, large pieces, especially those ejected by the comet with sufficient force, tend to migrate ahead of the comet ultimately into the Earth's path. ]

The tau Herculids get their name from the location of the radiant, or point in the sky where the meteors appear to be coming from. Nearest the 19th (tau is the 19th letter in the Greek alphabet) brightest star in the constellation Hercules. So look high in the eastern sky after about 10 pm. The later you look, the higher the radiant point will be in the sky, minimizing the number of meteors hidden below the horizon.

Researchers point to 12:45 a.m. EDT on Tuesday morning, May 31, 2022 as the best time to look.

The best way to maximize the number of meteors you see is patience. Give eyes at least 15 minutes to adjust and look to the darkest part of the sky. The longer you look, the more likely you are to see something. With meteor showers normally peaking in the hours before sunrises, this one peaks at a far more convenient time making it worth a look before turning in for the night.